Hiding behind nicknames : A linguistic study of anonymity in IRC chatrooms

Abstract This essay deals with the creation and usage of nicknames in synchronous CMC. Nicknames from four different IRC chat conversations related to three different topic groups have been examined. The method draws on Bechar-Israeli’s (1996) categorisation of nicknames, which has been adapted to suit the type of data sampled. Three research questions have been posed, which, in view of other studies related to this field of research (e.g. Ellison et al. 2006, Scheidt 2001, Chester & Gwynne 1998, etc.) have been examined to obtain information about the degree of anonymity and the topic-relatedness of nicknames used in chatrooms. The results show that users participating in synchronous CMC indeed follow topic-related rules for self-presentation and that anonymity has varying importance in different chatrooms